


Reconnaissance

by Leni



Category: Angel: the Series, The Pretender
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 02:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4204236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the Triumvirate *were* Wolfram & Hart?</p><p>Or, Jarod Infiltrates Wolfram & Hart</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconnaissance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cascadewaters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cascadewaters/gifts).



> Written for Cascadewaters at [Comment Fic](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/492812.html?thread=73139980#t73139980). Prompt: **Pretender/Angel, any, what if the Triumvirate *were* WolfRam &Hart?**

Pretending to be one of the blood-sucking undead was obviously out of the question, so Jarod must settle for the next best thing. _James Lawson, Attorney at Law,_ says the card he hands to the receptionist on the main floor. The girl keeps smiling even as she confirms his appointment, and is downright cheery when she passes him a visitor's pass. "Eighth floor," she chirps, pointing the way to the elevators. "Mr. Manners is expecting you."

Jarod nods and mutters a thank you, not bothering to reveal that he already has mapped out the entire floor and all the possible exits (and some improbable ones, as well. Dealing with sweepers had honed the habit). It wouldn't do to enter the belly of the beast without some foreplanning.

"Have a good day!" The girl says, waving cheerfully before a phone call distracts her.

Jarod doesn't wave back.

A part of him is glad that he caught her eyeing the pulse at his throat, or otherwise he would already be devising a way to scoop her away from this building in order to save her. Most of him is busy stomping down the grief and fury at the knowledge that not one person who has signed up to work for Wolfram & Hart can be saved. Hundreds of people around him, and he cannot help any of them.

But that's the idealist in him, struggling to do some good in a fallen world. That man cannot exist today. Those best parts of him, the kindness that the Center couldn't snuff out and the outside world cannot embitter, must be left aside. 

Today, he is James Lawson, and Lawson is the kind of man that Holland Manners will be glad to welcome: Cold. Unfeeling. _Soulless_.

This is not a rescue mission. There are no damsels in distress and no victims that need his help. He won't be playing the hero during this stay in Los Angeles. 

He is here to do some reconnaissance. Nothing more.

(He'll help them all later. He might even help himself, at long last.)

For now he must learn whether his latest research uncovered the truth. If this empire of hellish creatures is the actual heart of the Center and all its evils. If the senior partners are the real face behind his nightmares, and the Triumvirate only a mask they wear to fool the world.

Upon stepping off the elevator, yet another secretary - this one dark-haired and too pale - shows him the way to his destination. "Mr. Lawson to see you," she announces, opening the double doors and preceding him into a spacious office.

Inside, a grey-haired man looks up and nods. "Ah yes, of course." 

Holland Manners in the flesh.

He smiles at Jarod - _at Lawson_ \- before he dismisses his guide with a glance. The woman leaves without another word, her steps barely audible. "Come in, come in," Manners waves him inside, then turns toward a younger man seated on the other side of his desk. "Lindsey, meet James Lawson." Both men nod at each other. Lindsey McDonald, Jarod remembers from the files he's put together, is fairly new at his job but already a rising star. Competitive and clever, McDonald will be watching him for a weakness. Jarod must remember to plant one that will put the other man at ease. "Lawson here comes highly recommended from the East Coast," Manners continues, then laughs, "Our friends in Delaware must still be weeping at his absence!"

Jarod laughs along. "More likely, they're thundering for a way to drag me back," he says, unable not to be amused. A file full of forged records, and still he's telling the truth. 

"Hah!" Manners says. "They can try, but we at Wolfram & Hart will always make the better offer."

 _And all they want in exchange, is my immortal soul,_ Jarod thinks. But he says, "That's what got me interested, sir. Though I still will visit a few other prospects before I sign anything - just in case."

Manners frowns at that, but in the end gives him a patronizing smile. "The privilege of youth, I gather, is choice. Very well. Look around if you must. But first-" He points to the other chair before his desk, and at the same time looks at the other man and nods toward the door. 

MacDonald takes the dismissal with good grace and stands up with a small smile. "Good to meet you, Lawson. We'll be seeing each other soon, I'm sure. We _are_ the best there is at what we do." The look he gives Jarod is a warning not to step in his way, should he come to work to Wolfram  & Hart. "You won't regret it."

"Indeed," Manners says, his voice craftier now. "With your... credentials..." Meaning: the _other_ fake files he attached to this identity. The ones that would throw a man in prison for life if he were discovered. "...I'm sure you'll fit in well. Might even need you for an upcoming project - it's a _special_ one, you could say. Of utmost interest to our senior partners." He shakes his head. "Though, sadly, it's met with some setbacks in recent months. I'm sure all it needs is, shall we say, new blood."

When MacDonald stiffens ever so slightly, Jarod understands.

The words are meant both to entice him, and to warn the other man not to fail. He shudders inwardly at the thought of what could interest the demons in charge of this hellhole.

Yet Lawson would be delighted at the prospect, so Jarod forces his lips into an interested smile. "Sounds perfect, sir." He hears MacDonald leave, his loud steps marking his annoyance - and perhaps his fear? Lawson wouldn't care about the young lawyer, which means that Jarod's attention doesn't waver from the man in charge. "I'd be pleased to hear more about it."

 

The End  
25/06/15


End file.
